Overhead camera falls at Olympic Park, injuring seven

Videos of the scene posted on social media show a camera that appears to be at least 6 feet long crashing down to the plaza near the main Olympic basketball arena. Another shows two women seated next to the downed apparatus, one of them with a bloody nose.

The camera was suspended about 10 metres above a concourse.

A large camera operated by Olympic Broadcasting Services crashed to the ground at Rio's Olympic Park on Monday, injuring at least seven bystanders.

Videos of the scene posted on social media show a camera that appears to be at least 6 feet long crashing down to the plaza near the main Olympic basketball arena. Another shows two women seated next to the downed apparatus, one of them with a bloody nose.

OBS said in a statement that a rope used to pull the camera came down around 1:30 p.m. local time and a team was sent to investigate.

The camera was suspended about 10 metres above a concourse at the time and had two support ropes still attached. While repair crews awaited the arrival of a cherry picker, both ropes snapped and sent the camera down approximately 20 metres to a lower concourse.

Officials said seven people suffered "minor injuries" as a result of the incident and an investigation has been launched.

The area where the camera fell was later cordoned off and guarded by security officials.